


A Place To Crash

by cosmic-ow (meganzzz23)



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Light Angst, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-03-26
Packaged: 2018-05-29 05:07:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6360739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meganzzz23/pseuds/cosmic-ow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karen Page removed the screen from her window just in case a certain friend of her's needed a place to crash. And to her surprise, he actually showed up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Place To Crash

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, goes easy on me with this. It's been over a year since I've written anything creative. But after finishing season 2 of Daredevil I had to write something for Karen, and Frank. So here we are.
> 
> As for the rating, I kept going back and forth between teen and mature. So I went with mature to be safe really. But I guess I feel that it's somewhere in between.
> 
> Feedback would be amazing. Thank you all.
> 
> cosmic-ow.tumblr.com

The sound of a passing fire truck startled Karen awake. She jumped up, completely out of her desk chair. Once the sound passed she caught her breath.

“Shit.” She said under her breath. She’d just glanced at the time. 3AM. Hours later than she’d planned on staying. Her deadline wasn’t for a couple more days, and she was already on her final draft. An all nighter was necessary.

Karen walked over to her office door, and peaked out. The office was dark.

_Last one here. That’s just fucking great._

Whoever left The Bulletin last was responsible for closing up. Which Karen still hadn’t gotten a hang of. Despite having already been working here for months.

She returned to her desk, and began packing up. Since she usually worked at the office, so most of her files could stay. But she grabbed a couple to take home. Just some light reading on gang violence before bed.

As she pulled her briefcase off her desk, a folder got caught underneath it, and fell to the ground. Its contents spilled across the floor. _Fuck._ She sighed, and knelt down to pick up the mess she’d made.

And there he was, staring back at her in black and white print, Frank Castle.

Karen collected every article he was mentioned in. And kept them in a folder at the end of her desk. These paper clippings contained the only pictures she had of him. And of course most of the articles used his mugshot. Despite how pixelated the photo was, you could see the bruises, and scrapes clearly. Other articles used blurry photos that witnesses captured on their cellphones. His face appeared to be less bruised these days.

The most recent article she’d found on him was on the top. Right above his mugshot read the headline PUNISHER ALIVE OR DEAD? There haven’t been any sightings, or reports of him in weeks. So of course people were starting to theorize that he’d met his end. Karen knew better though. If he had been killed on one of his missions, the organization that did him in would be bragging about it. One of her contacts would have information. No, he has to be lying low. Or maybe doing low-key missions. But she knew he was still out there.

Karen ran her finger gently across the page where his mugshot was printed. Then a thought suddenly occurred to her. Thoughts racing, she threw the folder back on her desk. She locked up the office, and rushed home as quickly as she could.

______

 

At her apartment door, Karen paused with the key half way turned in the lock. She glanced down at the space between the bottom of the door, and the floor. No light came thru. She was positive she’d left the lights on though.

She took a deep breath, and then opened the door.

After locking the door behind her, Karen entered her dark apartment. She didn’t reach for a light though. Instead she looked to the open window. A cool breeze flowed in.

Across the room, at the end of the hall, a figure appeared.

“Frank.”

The living room light came on. And she could now see him clearly. Blood was dripping down his arm, but he held a washcloth to the cut.

They held each other’s gaze.

Karen gave a small smile. “Hey.”

Frank looked down, trying to hid the corners of his mouth pulling up from her. “Um, I think I owe you a washcloth.” He said in his gruff voice, as he gestured to his dripping arm.

Karen just laughed. “I’ll just add it to your tab.”

Twenty minutes later, and his arm was all patched up. Karen was relieved that it didn’t need stitches. Frank was sitting in the arm chair. His head resting against his currently uninjured arm.

Karen walked over to her fridge, and pulled out two beers. She tossed him one without warning, but he caught it before even looking up. He gave her a confused look.

Shrugging, she said, “You look like you could use a drink.”

Frank twisted off the cap, and took a sip. He pulled back the bottle, and made a face. “Tastes like shit.”

“That’s ‘cause it is.” Karen sat down at the couch, turned slightly so she was facing him.

“You know there is good, cheap beer out there.” Frank said, a smile forming. “You don’t have to drink piss water.”

Karen rolled her eyes. “Sorry that your taste in beer is so much refined than mine. I’ll take it back if you’re so unhappy with it.”

He said nothing, but just took a longer swig from the bottle.

They finished their drinks in silence. It didn’t feel like an awkward silence though. Instead they watched each other. It was something that Karen was surprised didn’t feel strange. But it felt normal for them to look at each other the way the were. She noticed a bruise on his face. It wasn’t a bad one, but it was dark. It ran from the end of one of his eyebrows to his chin. Karen wondered how he got it.

But before she could ask, Frank suddenly stood up. He walked over the the wall just near the armchair. On the ground sat a large black case. It was his. Probably held guns, and other various weapons. He nudged the case closer to the wall with his foot, and then sat down.

“Were you too comfortable in the chair?” Karen asked.

Frank nodded. “Yeah, I was falling asleep.

Karen shrugged. “Would that be so bad?”

“I’m not about to pass out here in your living room.”

“Then why did you come here?”

She must have stumped him with that question because he didn’t reply. Instead he just looked away, shaking his head.

Karen sighed. “If you don’t sleep here, where are you going to sleep tonight?”

“I don’t know.” Frank responded. “I’ll figure something out.”

“That’s reassuring.”

“Well, what the fuck do you want me to say? It’s the truth.”

They watched each other closely. Both stubborn on their own side. But Frank looked exhausted. Karen knew she convince him to stay easily. She stood up, and then gestured to the couch. “Come on.”

Frank sighed, and rolled his eyes.

“Come on.” Karen said again.

He didn’t budge. “I’m not--”

“Just come sleep on the damn couch!”

Frank took a deep breath. Stood up, and walked to the couch. He kicked off his boots, and pulled off his coat. Karen smiled up at him.

“Good. Now lay down. I’ll get you a blanket.”

“No, I don’t need a blanket.”

Karen was already walking to her bedroom. “Yes, you do!”

Her bedroom closet was a mess, but she knew there was an extra blanket in it. She shuffled around some boxes till she noticed the fabric of the quilt sticking out. Grabbing on to it, Karen yanked it out from some clutter. Several shoe boxes of junk spilled to the ground. Ignoring the mess, she patted down the quilt. Seemed clean. It was white with colorful patches all in the shapes of flowers. She couldn’t wait to see it draped over Frank.

Turning around, she headed back into the living room. “Okay, I might have to get a picture of this.” She started. When she got into the room she Frank laying down, his head slumped over, and eyes shut. He was already asleep.

Smiling to herself, Karen opened the blanket, and slowly lay it over him.

She lingered, maybe just a moment too long, before turning around to head to her own bed. She kept her bedroom door open. Thru the darkness she could still see him. He stirred for a moment. Just to roll over on his side. He seemed to be in a deep sleep.

As Karen lay in her bed, she finally began to feel her eyes get heavy. She was used taking forever to fall asleep. But for some reason, it came quick this night. And before long, she was in her own deep sleep.

 

______

 

Frank felt warm. He slowly opened his eyes, and as they adjusted to the light, he saw the sun shining thru the window. Wincing slightly from the pain in his arm, he began to sit up.

 _What the hell?_ He noticed a quilt laying over him. Kicking the blanket off, Frank reached for his boots. He pulled them on, and stood up.

Karen’s bed was unmade, and empty. She didn’t seem to be anywhere in the small one bedroom apartment. He thought she must have gone to work. Walking over to his case, Frank began gather his stuff together. As he did, he suddenly felt stupid. How the hell did he let himself just pass out on her couch like that? He should have left. He should already be gone.

Suddenly the door opened. In an instant Frank was facing the door, a gun raised. Then he saw the flash of blonde. He lowered the gun as Karen stepped in.

“Easy.” She said, closing the door behind her. “I come bearing coffee.” He held out a styrofoam cup to him. “Extra large. Black. Just the way you like it.”

Frank just stared at her. _She brought coffee?_ He noticed that she was all showered, and dressed. The ends of her hair were still damp. Finally though, he reached out, and took the cup.

“Thanks.”

Karen nodded, and then held up a paper bag. “I also have bagels.”

They were sitting on the floor, around her coffee table. It had only took Frank a couple of minutes to down the coffee she brought him. He ate two plain bagels with nothing on them, which of course Karen teased him for.

“How do you not like cream cheese!” She laughed.

He tried to hide his smile. “I don’t know. The texture is weird.”

Karen laughed harder. “Ok, that’s something I never thought I’d hear you say.”

Frank watched her closely as she laughed. He couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his cheeks. He wasn’t sure why, but for some reason he need to remember this. The crease around her mouth as she smiled. Her eyes, somehow brighter. Was he happy? Frank wasn’t sure about that. But in this moment, he felt lighter. He felt at peace. He felt like maybe, just maybe, someday in the future he could be some version of happy.

Outside the window lights flashed. Accompanying that was the sound of a siren. Frank was pulled back to reality. _What the hell are you thinking?_ He wasn’t going to get a version of happy someday. Hell, he didn’t want it. No, he had work to do.

Karen’s smile faded as Frank stood up. We walked over to his case, and picked it up.

“Thank you for the hospitality, ma’am. Really. But I’ve stayed far too long. I need to go now.”

“Okay, well, you’ll come back tonight?”

Frank looked down, diverting his gaze away from her. If he didn’t look at her directly maybe he could get out of here without agreeing to come back. “No, I don’t think I will.”

“Why not?”

“Why should I?”

They were at a stalemate. But Frank couldn’t help himself, he looked up at Karen, eyes locking with her’s.

She shrugged. “I--I don’t know. I just--” She paused. Took a deep breath. “I just don’t want to be alone.”

Frank chuckled. “You’re so desperate for company that you want me hanging around?” He shook his head. “And they call me crazy.”

Karen rolled her eyes. “I feel like I can be truly open around you. We don’t hold things back.” She crossed her arms. “Geez, I was just being honest.”

Frank sighed. He felt guilty for teasing her about it. Especially since he wanted to agree with her. But he couldn’t tell her that. Distance is what they needed. Suddenly the danger of dealing with a gang felt nothing compared to this. “Look, I get it. I really do. But you shouldn’t be around me.”

“You’re the one who came here!”

“You’re the one who took the screen off the window!”

Karen took a step closer to Frank. “But I didn’t pull you thru! You came here all on your own. You can’t come to me, but they yell at me for getting close. It doesn’t work that way!”

She was right. Frank knew it. But he didn’t want to admit it. Instead he just grabbed his stuff, and head to the open window.

Halfway thru climbing out, Karen said, “You like Chinese food?”

Frank sighed, and then grumbled. “Yeah.”

 

______

 

The food was getting cold.

Karen tapped her chopsticks on the table impatiently. Maybe she was wrong? She thought his response this morning would mean he would make an appearance tonight. But it was after 3:30 am, and Frank was still nowhere.

Perhaps he was hurt, she wondered for a moment. But she couldn’t imagine him being so hurt that he couldn’t possibly figure out a way to get to her place. No, it was more likely that he’d gone back convincing himself it was a bad idea to return. Karen didn’t budge though. She stayed at the table, poured herself some wine, and waited.

And she didn’t have to wait much longer. The window began to open, and Frank climbed in. He crossed the room, and sat down on the other side of the table.

“Sorry, I’m late.” He said gruffly. He grabbed the chopsticks that were laying on the table next to his plate.

“Long day at the office?” Karen asked

Frank chuckled.

They ate their food, and drank their wine in silence. Once they were done, Karen brought him a towel, and washcloth. While he was in the shower, she moved to sit at the couch. She threw back the cup, finishing the rest of her wine. They’d finished a whole bottle. Karen was starting to feel a little wobbly from the alcohol.

Karen heard the shower stop, and a few moments later Frank stepped out of the bathroom. He wore a white t-shirt, and black boxers.

“Shit!” He swore when he saw Karen sitting on the couch. He used his jeans that his was holding to cover his lower half. “I thought you went to bed.”

Karen jumped up quickly. “Oh! No. I’m sorry. I--I didn’t know you wanted--I--thought--” She sighed, and then gave a small chuckle. “I thought maybe you wanted to talk more?” She shrugged.

Frank looked down. She could tell he was doing it to hide a small grin.

They stood in silence for a few moments. Neither of them knew exactly what to do. So they remained unmoving.

“Um, hey,” Karen started, breaking the silence. “You know I’ve seen a lot of things in my life. And, uh, seeing you in boxers really isn’t a big deal.”

Frank didn’t say anything. He just tossed his jeans over to where his things sat against the wall then walked over to the couch, and sat down.

He cleared his throat. “It’s, uh, it’s late.”

Karen nodded. “Ok. Um, good nig--”

“But I suppose we could talk. For a little while.”

Karen quickly sat down on the couch next to him before he changed his mind.

The couch wasn’t huge, so there wasn’t much open space between them. But Karen suddenly found herself wanting to close the gap. She wanted to be closer. She didn’t move though. There wasn’t a reason to lessen the space between them. It wasn’t necessary. But none of this was. None of this was rational. There was no sane reason for her to be providing The Punisher with a place to crash. No reason for her to even speak with him.

They both knew this. They both knew everything they’d been doing, the conversations, the coffee, dinner, the looks that lasted a little too long, nothing good could come out of it. He was always going to do what he does. He would always be a wanted man. Frank knew he couldn’t do this forever. One day his time as The Punisher would come to an end. Whether it be in a jail cell, or at the hand of someone who pulled the trigger faster, he knew he couldn’t keep this up for the rest of his life. There was no future in it, and no future in anything for him.

But still, despite these thoughts running through both of their heads, the space between them got smaller. Smaller and smaller until their legs were touching. Side to side they sat. The silence remained, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It felt strangely natural. Just as everything did with them. Talking, being honest, confessing all of their deep dark sins, everything between them just felt natural.

Frank’s hand was resting on his knee. He could feel her leg now pressed up against his. This was enough. It was already too far. Just being here was too far. But against his better judgement, he moved his hand slowly across his knee and onto her’s.

To her own surprise, Karen didn’t flinch at all when he touched her. She looked down at his hand on her. She began to gradually move her own hand towards his. Once she did, she found his hands were surprisingly warm. As Karen’s fingers moved down the top of his hands, she could feel the roughness of them. There were bumps, bruises, and scrapes. The hands certainly matched the man.

Frank turned his hand, so their palms were touching. They held onto each other’s. Fingers intertwined. As the held hands, Frank traced small circles on her skin with his thumb.

Karen let out her breath. She hadn’t even realized she holding it. Leaning her body even closer into his, she gently rested her head against his chin. She felt him turn his head slightly till his mouth was against her head. For a moment he did nothing. But then she felt him kiss her forehead.

Karen let out a quick breath. It almost sounded like a chuckle. “Frank.” She spoke his name quietly as to not disturb the peacefulness of the moment they were sharing. “What are we doing?”

And suddenly the mood shifted. Frank quickly pulled his hand away from her’s. He stood up so fast that Karen nearly fell forward.

In the darkness Karen could still see his standing figure. He’d taken a few steps back. He was rubbing his face with his hands. A low blue light was beginning to come in through the window. Morning was coming.

“Frank?”

“Get up.” His voice was low. It was rougher than she was used to hearing directed towards her.

“It’s okay. We were jus--”

“Karen!”

She stopped. Hearing him say her name gave her a strange feeling for some reason. Maybe she just hadn’t heard it from him much.

He sighed. “Just go to bed.”

Karen didn’t try to argue anymore. She suddenly felt very tired, and arguing with Frank Castle required energy. She stood up without another word, and went to her room. Shutting the door behind her.

 

______

Frank returned to Karen’s apartment again the next night.

He didn’t plan to originally. He had left in the early hours of the morning after being unable to fall asleep on her couch. While grabbing his things, and climbing out of the window, he’d decided he wouldn’t see Karen again.

There’s always been something between them. An intrigue. But last night happened. They’d both began to act on their interest. It was too far. Frank was letting himself get too close to someone. The conversations they had together was already too much. He needed a step back from their connection.

But it the evening Frank began doing recon on a new mob in town. He followed some members to an event hall. They were holding some sort of party. Probably a fundraiser as a front for something else.

As he watched guests enter from his vantage point, a woman in blue gown caught his eye. Her blonde hair over her shoulder. Her hands holding tight on to her bag. A small notebook peaked out.

It was Karen.

Frank watched her as she walked into the event. Her determination was palpable. As she disappeared into the building, an idea came to him. It made sense to get her information. Find out what she knew about the mob he was trying to take down. Something she knew might be able to help him.

And that’s how he found himself back at her apartment. But after he slide through the window, he discovered that she wasn’t there yet. The apartment sat still, and dark. So he sat. And he waited.

 

______

 

The door opening jolted Frank awake.

Once he was sitting up, Karen was standing in front of him.

“I wasn’t sure you were going to ever come back.” As she spoke, her expression was hard to read. Frank couldn’t tell if she was happy he returned, or if she wished he wasn’t sitting on her couch again.

He cleared his throat. “I wasn’t going to.”

“But?”

“But I saw you tonight. Going into that party.”

Karen sighed. “Look, if you’re going to tell me to be careful, I--”

“It’s not that.” Frank said, interrupting her. “I need your information.”

“My information?

Frank stood up. “Yeah. I know you had a notebook in there. You must have something on them.”

“I have information.”

“Good. Let’s see it.”

Karen shook her head. “No way.”

Frank rolled his eyes. “Why not?”

“You’re going to use it to take them down.”

He laughed. “That’s the plan.”

“There’s nothing useful to you, okay?”

Frank crossed his arms. “How about I be the judge of that?”

Karen didn’t say anything. She just stared. And he stared back.

Her blue eyes gave a powerful gaze. But he wasn’t going to budge. He needed those notes. This was his job. His life. Stopping shitty people from doing shitty things. If her information could help at all, he needed it.

“That’s really why you’re here?” She broke the silence. “The only reason?”

Frank nodded.

Without missing a beat, Karen pulled her bag off her shoulder. Yanking it open, she grabbed her yellow page notebook, and tossed it to him. The sudden aggression caught Frank off guard. He almost dropped her notebook.

After catching it, Frank began paging through her notes. Karen stood in the same spot. Watching him flip through the pages. Her arms were crossed over her chest.

Frank read several of the first bullet points she’d written. Once he’d read half of the first page, he sighed. None of it any mentions of the mob. He’d made a mistake.

Karen could tell he knew now. “I wasn’t there on some secret mission, Frank. I was just covering the fundraising. Filling in for another report who got sick, and couldn’t go.”

“Y-you’re always writing about crime. I--I just assumed.” He tossed the notebook onto the coffee table.

“It’s fine. Okay?” She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. But something else does.”

Frank raised an eyebrow at her. He didn’t know what she was getting at. “What?”

“You didn’t come just for information that I maybe had. Right?”

“Why else would I come?”

Karen rolled her eyes. “Don’t bullshit me. Not me.”

Frank took a deep breath. He tried to keep his face still. At a poker face. She’d be able to read any expression. He had to keep neutral.

But then she took a step closer to him. And then another step. And another step. Till there wasn’t much space between them. All of his sense were telling him to head back out the window. Leave, and never come back. Don’t get close. He couldn’t get close to anyone ever again.

“I’m not going to stop you if you want to leave.” Her voice was quiet. “But you can stay. And we don’t even have to make a big deal out of it, okay? It’s just a place to crash.”

Frank’s voice felt caught in his throat. “Okay.” He managed to choke out quietly. “Okay.” He nodded.

Karen smiled. She looked down. Suddenly now looking a little bashful. “I need to get the hell out of this dress.” She looked back up at him again. “I’ll be right back.” He nodded.

She turned around, and walked to her bedroom. After being in there for only a few moments, she called out. “Frank?”

He didn’t say anything. Just looked towards her room.

“Um, c-can you help me?”

Without letting really letting himself think about it, he started walking towards her room. He felt suddenly nervous. But as he neared the doorway, and saw her, a strange sense of calm washed over him. All thoughts of the recent bloodshed he caused went temporarily to distant part of his mind. With a steady breath he walked over to her. She stood with her back turned to him. Pulling back her long hair from the zipper on the back of her dress, she was asking him to unzip her. And with unmoving hands, he did.

As Frank pulled the zipper slowly down, Karen could feel him trace it’s path down her back. At first his hands felt cold against her skin. But by the time he’d reached the end of the zipper, they felt good in contrast to the warmth of her own skin. After pausing for a moment, he began moving both of his hand up her back, and into her dress. Up by her shoulders where she was still covered.

Karen could feel the caution in his touch. Her own body was now covered in goosebumps.

But despite all that, it felt right to her. Sure, this would all probably backfire on them. Or cause more problems later. But in the moment, it just felt right.

“I-it’s okay.” She was almost afraid to say something. It was cutting into the moment between them. But she need to say something. “It’s okay to want this, Frank. Everybody needs this. Even us.”

And then his hands fell back to sides.

Karen sighed. She cursed herself. She should have known saying that would end it. Holding on to her dress, so it wouldn’t fall to the ground, she turned to face him.

His expression was filled with conflict. But after only a few moments, he spoke. “Don’t say ‘us’.”

“Okay, I didn’t mean it like that. I--I didn’t mean it like there is an us. I just--”

Frank cut her off. “I mean don’t say ‘us’ like we’re the same.”

Karen didn’t say anything. She just watched him, and waited for him to keep talking.

“You have a whole life before you, Karen.”

“And you don’t?”

“Not like how you do.”

Karen sighed. “Okay. Fine. But so what? That has nothing to do with whatever this is right now.”

Frank took a sharp breath. “Of course it does! I--I need to keep distance from people. I have to.”

“Why?! Because the big, bad Punisher doesn’t get to do anything, but suffer?!”

“Ok.” Frank took a step back. He ran his hands over his face. “You’re putting words in my mouth.”

“Am I? Or am I just saying what you’re not going to ever directly say to me?”

“Does it even matter what I say?” Frank shrugged. “You’ve already made up my reasons, so why don’t you just go with those.”

Karen stepped towards him. She had an intense look on her face. It reminded him of back when she visited him jail during the trial. Her words of telling him that he would ‘rot in a goddamn jail cell’ came back to his mind.

“How is that different from what you’re doing?” She asked. “You’ve decided that you can’t have any connections or whatever. But it doesn’t have to be that way.” Another step closer. “And it really isn’t that way. I feel closer to you than I do with a lot of people in my life right now.”

Frank chuckled. “If that isn’t fucked…”

Karen laughed. “Maybe it is.” She shrugged. “Problem for another day though.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Right now I could give less of a shit how fucked up this all is.”

Frank smiled. And then slowly nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, me too.”

Karen bit her lip. “So what now?”

He shook his head. “I got no clue.”

Karen went into her closet, and changed into a t-shirt and shorts. Once she stepped out, she walked back over to Frank. She took both of his hands, and began to lead him over to her bed.

“Um, you can stay in here.”

He just nodded while she pulled him closer. And when they were right next to the bed, and just inches apart from each other, he slid out of his jacket. Then he took off his boots. Karen placed her hands on his shirt. She moved them slowly down his stomach until she reach to top of his jeans. With his hands on top of her own, she undid the button, and then the zipper. He pulled off his pants, and was in his boxers like the night before.

Frank put his hands on Karen again. It felt strange to use his hands in gentle way again. He was used to using them for pulling triggers, and hitting hard. But now he was running them slowly down her arms. With one hand he pushed back her hair. He held her face.Traced circle on her cheek. He could hear her breathing. Her chest moved up, and down. But both of them were unflinching.

“Frank.” She breathed.

He swallowed. Pulled her closer.

Her breathing was shallow now. She was speaking in a whisper. “Come here.” But he was already pulling her up to him, and with no more hesitation their lips met.

Their kiss started out slow, but as they continued, it grew more intense. Frank moved his other hand to her face, and he pulled her closer somehow. As they kissed, Karen gave a small moan. He then moved his mouth from her’s to her neck. And his hands moved down her back. Further and further down until he was able to pull her legs up, and around his waist. She through her head back. They tipped back. The bed caught them.

For a while they were a tangled mess. Their lips found each other. Their hands touched each other. As time passed they found themselves craving more. But with time bringing them closer to day, doom loomed over them in their bed. Daytime would bring back rational thought. It would bring them back to their senses. They both knew this. It just made them kiss harder. Explore more. Whisper previously unheard affections.

But before they knew it their eyes were getting heavy. Underneath the sheets they laid. Karen wrapped up in Frank’s arms. He trailed his fingers up, and down her legs. And would gently kiss her shoulder. She held his hands that were across her chest.

There wasn’t a window in her bedroom, but through the open door she could see another low blue light. It would get brighter, and brighter. It would send them their separate ways. Maybe it didn’t matter anymore though. There were no more lines for them to cross. He would leave. But he would come back. There was nothing else to lose. Karen kept thinking this until she finally fell asleep.

As Frank lay next to her, he listened to her slow, and steady breathing. Even though he was still in bed, the time they’d spent in it together suddenly felt surreal. The sudden silence of the moment almost overtook him. He felt a pang in his chest. Distant memories of another life flashed through his mind. Slowly, without disturbing Karen, he pulled his arms back, and sat up in bed. His heart was beating fast. He could feel himself starting to spiral.

Air. He needed air.

Frank slide off the bed quietly. He moved across the room, and as he stepped out, he quietly shut the door.

He just needed to sit down at the couch for a minute. Because every part of him was pulling in different directions. He wanted to be back in bed with Karen. But his instinct was to leave. It would be easier. No complications with that.

Frank leaned back, as he sat down. He ran his hands across his face. His eyes were heavy, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep yet. Maybe if he found a quick distraction? He looked around the living room. The coffee table just had some old magazines. Nothing interesting looking. Just some issues of People. He glanced at the other side of the table. The yellow legal pad was their. Karen’s notes about the fundraiser. Frank leaned forward, and grabbed it. He was interested in seeing exactly how she took notes. Even if the subject was mundane. He paged through the notes. But then something at the back of the notepad caught his eyes. A piece of paper just barely sticking out…

 

______

 

Karen jumped up when her phone beeped. She sat up quickly, and reached around the dark for it. The bed was empty. She stumbled out of bed towards her room door, and opened it.

“Frank?”

It was still early. Did he leave already? His clothes were gone from the floor.

Karen looked around. She sighed. She didn’t want to wait till the evening to talk to Frank again. She wanted to know where he was at with all of this. If he hadn’t already made a decision about what’s next for him though.

Suddenly the yellow on the couch caught her eye. Wasn’t her notebook on the table when they went to bed?

Shit.

“No.” Karen said under her breath. She rushed over to the couch, and grabbed the notebook. She flipped it to the back, and opened it. It was gone. The notes she took. The  _other_  notes she took were gone. Karen chucked the notepad across the room. “Fuck!”

The sun was just now coming up. But she already knew Frank Castle wasn’t going to be coming back again tonight.


End file.
